Fighting broke out in the night from Sunday to Monday two influential armed groups in the center of the Libyan capital Tripoli, causing light injuries among the civilian population, according to rescue and local media.
Clashes continued late into the night, including in crowded downtown streets, between two groups affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity: the "al-Radaa Force" (deterrence) and the "444 Brigade".
The last deadly clashes in the capital took place in July 2022 and left 13 dead, including a child, and 30 wounded.
Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, oil-rich Libya has been plagued by divisions fuelled by the proliferation of armed groups with shifting allegiances.
Armored vehicles were deployed Sunday afternoon in Tripoli after the arrest of a member of the "Brigade 444", including in the shopping street of Jraba, in the east of the capital, and in the residential area of Ras Hassan, in the city center.
After a lull of a few hours, heavy and light weapons fire rang out in the eastern suburbs of Tripoli, including in Ain Zara, Fornaj, and near the campus of the University of Tripoli, which decided to "close its doors on Monday and suspend exams" as a security measure.
A few shots were still heard at 3am, followed by ambulance sirens, according to an AFP journalist.
An elderly man "was wounded in the arm by shrapnel while fleeing his home in Ain Zara by car," the Tripoli Rescue Service said on its Facebook page, reporting damage to its ambulances. Several other civilians were lightly injured in the clashes.
The Stability Support Authority (SSA), another armed security group, intervened to stop hostilities and attempt mediation.
Since Thursday, the Tripoli-based government has carried out several drone strikes near Zawiya, 45 km west of the capital, ostensibly against gangs of traffickers, which have left at least two dead and others wounded.
Two governments are vying for power in Libya: one installed in Tripoli (west), led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah and recognized by the UN, the other in the east, supported by the powerful Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Parliament.
